Baseball practice is supposed to be fun for young players. It is also supposed to be a learning experience. Coaches will tell you that in order for players to get the most out of their drills, they have to be interested and excited to take part. Pitching, hitting and fielding drills often are most effective when they have some competitive aspect to excite boys who play the game.
Throwing Relay
This is a great drill to help youngsters improve their throwing and catching and therefore help their defense. Line six players up the third-base line, spaced equally between home plate and the left field foul pole. Do the same with six more players down the right-field line. On the coach's signal, the player at home plate in each line will throw the baseball to the next player in the line. That player will catch the ball and throw to the third player in the line. The relay will continue in that manner until the last player has caught the ball at the foul pole. At that point, the relay reverses itself and it goes back towards home plate. The team that gets the ball back to home plate first without any drops or poor throws wins the relay. If there is a drop or a poor throw at any point in the relay, the team must start over at the beginning.
Knockout Drill
This is a fun drill to have during practice and it will help pitchers learn to pitch and improve their accuracy on the mound. In this game, each player will get a chance to pitch. The first pitcher takes his spot on the pitching rubber. He will throw one pitch to a coach who is serving as the catcher and the umpire. If the youngster throws a strike, he goes to the back of the line. If he throws a ball, he is on the hot seat. If the next pitcher throws a strike, the preceding pitcher is out if he threw a ball. If the pitcher on the mound throws a ball, then he is on the hot seat and the previous pitcher goes back in line. The drill continues in this manner until there is only one pitcher left. He is the winner of the knockout drill. Some coaches like to reward this pitcher by letting him start the next game.
Hitting Drill
As baseball players get more familiar standing in the batter's box, you can play a game with them in practice to help introduce them to the practice of bat control. You want hitters to learn to hit the ball to all fields. Here's how the drill works. On the first pitch, the batter lays down a bunt. On the second pitch, the hitter---right-handed---will try to pull the ball to left field. On the third pitch he will try to hit it to center field. On the fourth pitch he will try to hit it to right. Left-handed hitters go in the opposite direction. Give each hitter two rounds with this drill.
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